Casual Game Design

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CHAPTER THREE

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PLAY IS THE THING

Mentally mapping the activity of hitting streaming notes on the screen is much easier

with an object that looks like a guitar than with a normal video game controller.

The shape and feel of the object tells the players much of what they need to do.

The disadvantage of object play is, well, it requires you own the object and a

specific set-up that accommodates play. This can limit the accessibility of the game.

The more limited the accessibility, the more limited its chances for adoption.

In Chapter 4, Matching, and Chapter 5, Sorting, we’ll look at how games like

Solitaire and Bejeweled use the characteristics of objects to structure gameplay. The

designers of these games create mechanics which highlight ...